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The Clearly Speaking Blog is a collaborative effort by the team at ClearOne. Our aim is to provide valuable information about Professional Audio & Video as well as entertain, motivate, inspire, and discuss all things in the Pro A/V space.

Yearly Archives: 2010

MagicBox had the opportunity to work with Brad Lipman, who is the Director of Media Services, at Kishwaukee College in Malta Illinois. He is using one of our Aavelin SignMates and four of the Aavelin 1080P systems to drive content. The Aavelin1080P’s are modulated on their in house cable system using HDMI to Qam Modulators. This is a unique implementation of distributing the 1920×1080 HD signal across a campus and the first instance of this we’ve seen. Very cool indeed. Brad says the quality has been very good and shared some pictures of the install along with some great commentary.

Head end #2Image #1

Head end #2Image #2

Conference Center AtriumImage #1

Conference Center AtriumImage #2

Click on images to enlarge.

Well, I said I would send you some pics, and I finally made time to take them.

Two of them are of our Headend #2, where we mix off-air channels and in-house channels. The left rack, with dark door, houses fiber transceiver with signals from Headend #1 which receives the off-air channels. It is located at the base of a 220 ft. tower that houses microwave antennae and our 6 TV antennae that bring in 26 channels/65 streams of HD signals from 4 cities in 3 directions. Chicago- to the East, Rockford and Madison WI to the North, and the Quad-Cities/Iowa area to the West. Check out a map, we are located just west of DeKalb IL. The next rack has signal processors for up-stream signals and modulators for our downstream channels. The middle rack has 2 satellite receivers, switcher and monitors. The right rack is what you care about, housing our Aavelin equipment and the B/T HD-QAM encoders/modulators. It is the close-up pic.

The other two pics are of our Conference Center Atrium. The wider angle shows two of the monitors. The one mounted above the desk is connected to the main signage system around campus, displaying from HD1 (1080p) via QAM. At the far left of that pic you can see the vertical mounted LCD. It has a duplicate on the far right of the desk, but I couldn’t get all three in one pic. The close-up is of the left monitor. It is connected to the SignMate.

We have 17 other monitors around campus, all horizontal LCD, that display info from the 1080Ps. The quote I asked for is for a 19thmonitor that will be part of our Foundation’s “Donor Wall”, and will have messaging and videos related only to that group.

We appreciated the opportunity to work with Brad and Kishwaukee College and look forward to providing solutions for their future signage needs. Thanks again for sharing Brad.

Early this year, we will be releasing a new Aavelin Composer and Playback software. This new release is packed with some great features.

This update will give the already capable Aavelin that extra punch; making video insertion easy to manage and stylish project creation a breeze with PDF support and some cool new backgrounds which are guaranteed to catch your viewer’s eye. Check out below for what’s in store.

PDF Support– Bring in a page from a PDF file onto your Composer page using the same method for bringing in any other image.

New Standard Background ImagesView Sample Gallery– We now have 100 new backgrounds that will be included with any Composer 4.0 and above installation. These backgrounds now come in two high definition resolutions: 1080p (16:9) and XGA (4:3).

Several Interface Improvements & Engine enhancements– Spacing and grouping has been added to the content buttons to make it easier to find which element you want. Other menus have been reorganized to accommodate more commonly used practices.

Be sure to keep checking the website and our social networks like Facebook and Twitter for more information on the Aavelin 4 release, the method for upgrading for current Aavelin customers, as well as everything MagicBox.

At MagicBox we occasionally take time off to enjoy our activities with family and friends. I was fortunate enough to go Steelhead Fishing on the Siletz River in Western Oregon over the Thanksgiving weekend with lifelong friend — Mike Day. It was a bit cold and a bit rainy, but the fishing was phenomenal. We went with Grant Scheele’s Northwest Guide Service (Mike’s brother-in-law) and we landed 20 Coho (all catch and release as they are native species) 7 Steelhead (of which we landed and kept 4), 1 Chinook (catch and release on this part of the river), and 5 cut throat trout (catch and release). It was an amazing day and a great opportunity to spend time with family and friends. If you make it out to Oregon, the fishing can be amazing and Grant was a phenomenal and gracious guide.

Rich Barnett, who is the Media Communications adviser at Wadsworth High School in Wadsworth, OH has been using the MagicBox Aavelin since 2002. He had this to say about the system:

“The machine runs 24/7 to post our bulletin board on the local educational cable access channel. I often update files from my home PC via the net. Very convenient on snow days! We have it on a good UPS to prevent surges and blackouts. (Saved the day during a brownout just this week).

Aavelin is a workhorse. I’m very pleased with the unit and your customer service.”

All of us here at MagicBox appreciate the kind words about our company and products. We work very hard to deliver the best digital signage solutions. Most of all we value our customers and focus on providing outstanding customer service on a personal level.

We recently just scanned in the IR codes for the JVC DR-MV150B DVD deck. It uses the IR code set as the JVC HR-XVC11B and the JVC HR-XVC12S. Below are the current decks that we support for IR video playback.

It was debut night for the newly re-branded Michigan Warriors at Perani Arena and Events Center. Fans lined up to get their favorite drinks and snacks before game one against the Springfield Jr. Blues. The team wasn’t the only highlight that debuted that evening; Perani Arena and Events Center was showing off its million dollar renovations. This included the concession stands using LCD screens to display their food and drink menu board that is powered by the Aavelin SignMate.

Integration and deployment of the signage was performed by M.G.R. Professional. Thanks for doing a fantastic job!

Being a patient and customer of a dentist, I can attest to the lull of sitting in a office waiting to get my teeth cleaned. It can seem like a lifetime waiting for your name to be called. These businesses are now seeing that Digital Signage in their office lobby is a powerful tool to keep their customers engaged and entertained while they patiently wait for their appointment to begin. The time from check-in until being called back is extremely valuable and can be leveraged to work in their favor. The benefits of a large LCD or plasma displaying customized content are extensive. Here are just a few of these benefits.

Increase Product/ Service Awareness

Earn a ROI (return on investment)

Build Stronger Customer Relationships

Save Money on Paper & Printing Costs

Enhance Customer Experience

Brand Building & Identity

Signage in the dental offices enables the business to promote their own services and products with exciting and dynamic ads with flash animation, live video, and or appealing graphics. They can advertise local businesses or community organizations, promote upcoming events or specials, display building directories if necessary. With the ability to provide real-time information, dental offices can engage and communicate to their customers on a greater personal level which builds a positive working relationship with the customer.

In the day and age of instant information, dental offices that offer Digital Signage to connect and communicate are one step a head of the competition. Informed customers are happy customers. Happy customers smile. Isn’t that what its all about anyway?

If you would like to see how we can assist your office or business with a Digital Signage campaign, give us a call at (541)752-5654 or send us an email.

As of September 1st, 2010 the VIPtv (Composite Output – #VIP6) model has been discontinued due to lack of available hardware. We are working diligently on a replacement unit that meets the small form factor requirements. Our Memo system will take its place until the replacement is available.

“Work smarter, not harder” has been an axiom for business for as long as companies have been focusing on the bottom line, and what an appropriate axiom it is. Manpower in the form of salaries are typically one of the most, if not the highest expense cost on a balance sheet. Balancing and allocating the amount of time an employee has versus the amount of work needed to complete the tasks at hand are what small business owners and managers struggle with on a regular basis.

Take data entry for example. An employee will sit and input several hundred or even thousands of records and statistics into a database. This is a huge effort and takes a lot of production time. If a business needed to display that information in a visually appealing way on different mediums to communicate and inform their audience, they would typically need to use a different software program and re-input that same data into it so it can be displayed. That doesn’t sound too productive at all, does it? It’s not an efficient use of the employee’s time. Leveraging the data that already has been input and taking advantage of technology to query and display the information is both advantageous and beneficial to the company’s productivity and economic status.

As businesses look for ways to stream line and automate communications to employees and customers in various mediums, MagicBox, Inc. has developed a software application called EZ-Stream which does exactly that. Companies typically input information such as building directories, meeting schedules, conference room availability, manufacturing statistics, tee times, and many more types of data into their database. EZ-Stream can query that data and display it on one of our Digital Signage players. The value of this software is from not having to perform redundant data entry work. Once the user sets up their template or layout in the user interface of the software to match their company’s brand and identity, the application will pull the information set by the user and display it in a tabled report type format.

EZ-Stream offers design, integration, and automation all in one application. Once your template design is complete and the database connection has been configured, the last step is to set the automated publish time for the interval you would like your MagicBox player unit updated. That’s It! Sit back and relax.

Today we announcing a support release update for the Aavelin Playback engine and the Composer software. The latest version is v3.44. This release addresses some minor bug fixes such as event scheduling and region content disappearance.

Users with v3.20 and above can receive the update at no charge. Users below that version will need to check the upgrade cost table found on the Update Request form page.

Be sure to have you Aavelin’s serial number and software version/ type (Standard or Professional) available.